Recap of the reintroduction: what made the black footed ferret reintroduction so successful​

By Sarah Sparhawk

Accessible by dirt road but not by cellphone service, Soapstone Prairie tucked 25 miles north of Fort Collins, Colo., seems nearly undisturbed by humans. Yet, a year ago, they came by the carload to see history slink onto the land: the reintroduction of the black footed ferret into the wild.

Fifteen ferrets were released here. This came more than three decades after they were first rediscovered in Meeteetse, Wyoming on Sept. 26, 1981.

Kimberly Fraser, outreach specialist at the National Black Footed Ferret Conservation Center, says that the efforts to repopulate the long-thought extinct ferret species were a great example of wildlife conservation.

“I think it is the best American conservation story,” she said. “It was highly successful, and proved that we could do it.”

The batch of ferrets bred in captivity at the center in Wellington, Colo., and then released in Soapstone last September were actually the second attempt at rehabilitation. As with any wildlife conservation endeavor, certain factors were necessary to see to it that the ferret would once again succeed in the wild, according to Fraser.

“It was a matter of, first, securing a habitat and then the right people at the right time,” Fraser said.

Today, that would include volunteer Erin Snowden, who works at the conservation center twice a week, ensuring the ferret’s basic care, like cleaning. For Snowden, her decision to work with the ferrets stems from a passion for biodiversity.

“…A healthy breeding population will lead to healthy offspring,” she said. “Increasing the population numbers in the wild and someday resulting in the black-footed ferret being removed from the endangered species list.”

Fraser believes the black footed ferret is an example that future conservationist will learn from.​“That is the hope” she said.

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